Let us trace the doings of the missing men. Instead of following their
retreating comrades, they had, under their officers, Lieutenants
Sutherland and MacKay, made a skilful detour in the woods to the rear of
the enemy, reaching a point where the road passed from the forest to the
open marsh across a small semicircular cove. Here they formed an
ambuscade in a thick grove of palmettos which nearly surrounded the
narrow pass.

They had not been there long when the Spaniards returned in high glee
from their pursuit. Reaching this open spot, well protected from assault
as it appeared by the open morass on one side and the crescent-shaped
hedge of palmettos and underwood on the other, they deemed themselves
perfectly secure, stacking their arms and throwing themselves on the
ground to rest after their late exertions.

The ambushed force had keenly watched their movements from their
hiding-place, preserving utter silence as the foe entered the trap. At
length Sutherland and MacKay raised the signal of attack, a Highland cap
upon a sword, and in an instant a deadly fire was poured upon the
unsuspecting enemy. Volley after volley succeeded, strewing the ground
with the dead and dying. The Spaniards sprang to their feet in confusion
and panic. Some of their officers attempted to reform their broken
ranks, but in vain; all discipline was gone, orders were unheard, safety
alone was sought. In a minute more, with a Highland shout, the platoon
burst upon them with levelled bayonet and gleaming claymore, and they
fled like panic-stricken deer; some to the marsh, where they mired and
were captured; some along the defile, where they were cut down; some to
the thicket, where they became entangled and lost. Their defeat was
complete, only a few of them escaping to their camp. Barba, their
leader, was mortally wounded; other officers and one hundred and sixty
privates were killed; the prisoners numbered twenty. The feat of arms
was as brilliant as it was successful, and Oglethorpe, who did not
reach the scene of action till the victory was gained, promoted the two
young officers on the spot as a reward for their valor and military
skill. The scene of the action has ever since been known as the "Bloody
Marsh."

The enterprise of the Spaniards had so far been attended by misfortune,
a fact which caused dissention among their leaders. Learning of this,
Oglethorpe resolved to surprise them by a night attack. On the 12th he
marched with fiv